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Muslim Andalusia: In 10th-12th century Muslim Andalusia (in southern Spain), the cross-cultural interaction between the
rabbinic world and the Muslim surroundings reached its summit. The society was rich in knowledge and the sciences. Their
religious leadership followed in the path of R. Saadiah and delved into all possible fields of knowledge, including the arts, in
addition to the Talmud….Yehudah Halevi Abu-al-Hassan (c. 1075-1141)…’s contribution to Jewish life was not in the area of
halacha, but in poetry. He is probably the best known Jewish poet, biblical and classical liturgists from the Land of Israel
included. Some 750 of his poems are extant; many have found their way into the standard Jewish prayerbook, particularly his
festival hymns. Among these hymns are poems portraying the innermost yearnings of Jews to return to the Land of Israel.
Some 35 of these poems are known to us; many are recorded in the Tisha B’av service. They reflect a rekindling of the
Zionist spirit at a time when Jews watched the struggle between the Crusaders and the Muslims over the Jewish homeland.
According to legend, Halevi achieved his highest aspiration by immigrating to Israel towards the end of his life. Zionism was
also a central motif in Halevi’s philosophical treatise Kitab alHujja waDlil fi Nsar aDin Aldh’lil (Book in Defense of the
Downtrodden Religion). Here, the basic tenets of Jewish belief and worship are set in a polemic drama, recounting how the
King of the Asian Kuzari tribe chose Judaism over Christianity and Islam. [See 3 for more]
From the Arab conquest, hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Arab world managed to survive between
traditional ravages. Most had religious affiliations. The-Arabs' general prohibition against political activities
by their Jewish dhimmis might have been a factor that inhibited and submerged the growth of Zionism as a
political phenomenon among the Sephardic Jews. But what may be called "spiritual Zionism" took root in
biblical times in the Sephardic Jewish community; those Jews, who are uniquely indigenous to the terrain
that now is the Arab world, have retained in their liturgy the steady longing for "return" to the Land of Israel,
a longing that has been mistakenly assumed to be exclusively "European."
Jews from Arab countries often become incensed when confronted with the argument that Zionism
originated in Europe. Every Sephardic Jew interviewed had the same immediate reaction: the Sephardim
are just as truly believers in Zion, and their ancient uninterrupted Jewish history led directly from the
destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem. <http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~peters/oriental.html>
In 10th-12th century Muslim Andalusia (in southern Spain), the cross-cultural interaction
between the rabbinic world and the Muslim surroundings reached its summit. The society
was rich in knowledge and the sciences. Their religious leadership followed in the path of
R. Saadiah and delved into all possible fields of knowledge, including the arts, in addition
to the Talmud.
Their interest and activity in linguistics may have been an answer to the linguistically-
pure Koran. Shmuel ibn Nagrela (Abu Ishak Ismail) (993-1056) was one scholar who
studied these subjects. He is known to have debated with the Muslim theologian Ibn
Hazzam about the relative merits of the Bible and the Koran. He was appointed Rais
alYehud (Head of the Jews), for which he is better known by the Hebrew title Shmuel
Hanagid. He served the Berber King Habus for 19 years as Foreign and Interior Minister,
and commanded the army of Granada, which became the dominant power in Andalusia.
He corresponded with R. Hai Gaon and with the masters of the Kairouan school. In
addition to books of poetry and Hebrew grammar, Shmuel Hanagid published a code of
Talmudic law oft-cited by subsequent Spanish Talmudic authorities.
But it was not until the arrival of R. Yitzhak Alfasi (1013-1103) that Andalusia developed
a yeshiva of the magnitude reminiscent of the ancient yeshivot of Babylon. A disciple of
R. Hananel, he arrived at Lucena, an exclusively Jewish town near Cordoba, around
1078. The academy founded there was to become the world center of Talmudic activity
until it was destroyed in the Almohad uprising in 1148. Alfasi’s Hilkhot Rabbati (Great
Lawbook) became the final work of this genre, giving him the historical stature of ‘batrai’
– the bottom line of Talmudic law. Knowledge of the Alfasi code was a standard
requirement for rabbinical ordination throughout the Jewish world for the next five
centuries. In fact, it was copied and studied more often than the Talmud itself. This
masterpiece combines an abridged Talmud updated with latter-day decisions of the
Geonim and the commentaries of R. Hananel. Alfasi’s outstanding longevity bridged the
last generation of the Geonim with the generation of the great European commentators.
One of Alfasi’s most famous disciples at Lucena was Yehudah Halevi Abu-al-Hassan (c.
1075-1141). Halevi’s contribution to Jewish life was not in the area of halacha, but in
poetry. He is probably the best known Jewish poet, biblical and classical liturgists from
the Land of Israel included. Some 750 of his poems are extant; many have found their
way into the standard Jewish prayerbook, particularly his festival hymns. Among these
hymns are poems portraying the innermost yearnings of Jews to return to the Land of
Israel. Some 35 of these poems are known to us; many are recorded in the Tisha B’av
service. They reflect a rekindling of the Zionist spirit at a time when Jews watched the
struggle between the Crusaders and the Muslims over the Jewish homeland. According to
legend, Halevi achieved his highest aspiration by immigrating to Israel towards the end of
his life. Zionism was also a central motif in Halevi’s philosophical treatise Kitab alHujja
waDlil fi Nsar aDin Aldh’lil (Book in Defense of the Downtrodden Religion). Here, the
basic tenets of Jewish belief and worship are set in a polemic drama, recounting how the
King of the Asian Kuzari tribe chose Judaism over Christianity and Islam.
<http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/features/articles/muslim.shtml>